Police praise England supporters for Moldova show

England may have failed to attract anywhere near a full house at Wembley on Tuesday night but their fans have won rare police praise for their conduct under considerable provocation in Moldova.

The 1,000 supporters in Chisinau, having had difficulties getting into the ground because of a single entry point, were subjected to ranks of Moldovan riot police blocking their view of the game.

Both incidents in the past would have been more than enough to provoke them. But their good-humoured reaction caused UK Police delegation head Rachel Barber to commend 'their forbearance and adaptability in coping with an unfamiliar policing style and obvious linguistic barriers' in her report.

Empty seats: England failed to attract a full house for their clash with Ukraine

Football Supporters' Federation spokesman Kevin Miles said: 'It is refreshing to see the conduct of England fans, which has been transformed over recent years, attract the recognition it deserves. All we ask is that we are policed on the basis of our behaviour and not our now long-dated negative reputation.'

Crouch fury

Peter Crouch's upset at being left out of England's Euro 2012 squad - which led to him telling manager Roy Hodgson he wouldn't be available to go on stand-by - may have been to do with his family, expecting him to be picked, booking trips to Poland and Ukraine.

By royal appointment

The wedding next year of Olympic heptathlete champion Jessica Ennis to construction manager Andy Hill will be a 'royal' sporting occasion, such is her golden girl reputation.

So it's fitting the stately home of Chatsworth is being considered for the reception after a possible ceremony at a nearby church in Baslow. Track queen Jessica wouldn't confirm or deny the Chatsworth speculation after Monday's London parade.

Security shambles

The bizarre denouement to seven weeks of Olympics and Paralympics for LOCOG leaders Lord Coe and the soon-to-be Lord Deighton was in committee room 15 in the House of Commons on Monday.

They were answering to the Home Affairs select committee on the G4S security shambles, which resulted in the army being brought in. But the MPs were more keen to congratulate the pair on their successful delivery of the Games, with chairman Keith Vaz even joking Coe was in line for canonisation.

The London 2012 duo left nobody in doubt G4S were responsible for the pre-Games mess. Coe said: 'It is difficult to look beyond their inability to deliver their contracted personnel.' Deighton added: 'The teamwork used to solve this problem is the best work I've ever seen.'

Watch out, Murray!

Andy Murray's first words to his back-up staff after his US Open win were to ask them the whereabouts of his sponsored Rado watch.

Murray, unlike the super commercially minded Roger Federer, who is forever plugging Rolex, is not so bothered about his endorsements.

Handy Andy: The British No 1 didn't forget his watch at Flushing Meadows

But he forgot to put on his Swiss watch - as his seven-figure contract stipulates - after his 2012 Wimbledon final defeat by Federer, who didn't waste any time strapping on the Rolex for the presentation pictures.

And, after a near five-hour US Open final, Rado were still on Murray's radar.

Sky under attack

No wonder there were complaints from Sky Sports viewers who taped the last stages of the US Open final before going to bed only to find on Tuesday morning the recording stopped just as Andy Murray stood to serve for the match.

Sky+ records only until the scheduled end. Sky, who have apologised to customers, are putting on extra repeats.

There's something about Maria

Maria Miller, new Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has given no indication since last week's reshuffle of any interest in sport. But the rapport between sports minister Hugh Robertson and Miller can only be an improvement on the toxic relationship between her predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, and Robertson.

Phone a friend

Wembley have spent the last five years looking for a stadium sponsor who will have 'in association with' branding rather than naming rights. The £5million-a-year price explains the difficulty in finding a backer, despite Vodafone and Nokia having been in talks.